What does a Project Manager at PRIME Research do?
Taking a helicopter view, the overarching goal of Public Relations is to help shape an organization’s reputation using professional media channels and, increasingly, social media platforms. Managing the relationships needed with the media in order to achieve this is at the core of the daily routine of most PR professionals. This includes the creative production, at the agency and corporate side, of communications. Prior to and following the actual media output, however, are the crucial planning and success-tracking stages. As a research-based communications consultancy, this is where PRIME is most active.
What gets measured gets done
Simply put, our goal is to prove the value of our clients’ PR activities. Not only is this vital to measuring the impact of PR events on a client’s reputation, it is also vital to enhancing the credibility of PR within the overall communications mix. We take basic monitoring — clippings, press overviews, basic sentiment — and turn it into strategic research and analysis.
Traditionally media monitoring has been carried out based on quantity such as clip counts, press reviews and clip books. This method regarded ‘success’ as based solely on the amount of coverage achieved, and takes little or no consideration into the quality of the media coverage. A slightly more involved approach will add sentiment analysis to the mix. Some say that “All PR is good PR,” however the harsh reality of the media world is such that negative coverage can have far reaching implications on a brand’s reputation.
Strategic measurement based on systematic research methods
True success though must involve message analysis. To be done accurately, this means human content analysis to break the coverage down into thematic units, assigning a level of positivity or negativity to each individual message, and comparing the message composition of the campaign to the original campaign strategy.
To ensure that the results are comparable, this must be done systematically and in a reproducible manner. Over the past 15 years PRIME has developed, tested and implemented the highest quality Quantitative and Qualitative Content Analysis methodology, which is approved by our International Scientific Advisory Board.
We combine our roots in academia with our experience in the real communications world to provide our clients with actionable research based on content analysis. A global network, high quality data and specialized industry knowledge are what turn our project managers into strategic communications consultants. We close the loop in the communications cycle by working with clients to keep them on track in the communications cycle and, to help them visualize their media reputation.
A look at the skill set for a Project Manager
In order to do this a Project Manager at PRIME Research needs an understanding of the mechanics behind a PR campaign and also a firm grasp of how the media system works with both online and traditional media. Also, given the scale of data behind a given media reputation, a certain degree of comfort in working with numbers is needed; a fluent statistical understanding is beneficial however is not a requirement. PRIME Research works to develop close client relationships, which in turn means relationship skills are vital, as well as presentation skills to a top management level. You must be comfortable with the Office suite as you will be leading your team in the creation of charting and presentations. If you enjoy a fast paced and rewarding working environment, have a background in communications and are looking for an exciting position, then a Project Manager role at PRIME Research might be ideal for you.
Today, good communication research is considered a core competency and professional foundation upon which good public relations is constructed.
Come and get involved in the research side of communications.
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